Former Linden
official accepted bribes
By KEN SERRANO, thnt
Online, February 15, 2008
LINDEN — The former head of
Linden's Neighborhood Preservation Program admitted in federal court Thursday to
accepting more than $180,000 in bribes in exchange for rigging bids for
construction companies.
Frank Rose, 53, of Marco Island, Fla., who quit his job as director of the
redevelopment program in November, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court,
Trenton, to one count of accepting bribes and four counts of tax evasion.
Two men, one of them Rose's brother, also pleaded guilty in the case.
The bribery charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The
tax-evasion charges can each bring three years in prison.
Rose, the nephew of former longtime city Councilwoman Virginia Graziano, was
making $91,826 when he resigned after the FBI raided his office Nov. 14, said
Mayor Richard Gerbounka.
Authorities said the investigation, launched in August, is continuing.
Frank Rose's brother, Anthony Rose, 48, the former director of the city's
Transportation and Parking Department, admitted Thursday to paying kickbacks to
Frank Rose.
Anthony Rose retired from his $113,643-a-year job on Jan. 9 after 26 years as a
Linden employee and has applied to collect a pension, Gerbounka said.
"It's devastating for me to have this occur with two employees," said Gerbounka,
an independent who ousted longtime Democratic Mayor John Gregorio in November
2006. "It doesn't project Linden in a very good light."
Between January 1998 and October 2007, Frank Rose was the field representative
for the program, also known as the New Jersey Neighborhood Redevelopment
Program. It revamped homes and funded home ownership for low- and
moderate-income people using money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
Frank Rose solicited bids from contractors for home repairs and construction and
was supposed to award contracts to the lowest bidders.
But Frank Rose admitted that he pocketed bribes ranging from about $500 to
$5,000 per job from five different contractors in exchange for rigging those
bids. As a result, the five contractors were given contracts ranging from
about $20,000 to $60,000 per job, according to testimony in court.
Anthony Rose was a silent partner in two separate construction and maintenance
businesses based in Clark and Toms River. Frank Rose awarded his two
companies approximately 37 contracts for $1,329,370 in work, according to court
testimony.
Walter Zawacki, 56, a partner in Zawacki Construction, a construction and
maintenance business based in Clark and one of Anthony Rose's business partners,
also admitted Thursday to paying bribes to Frank Rose.
Both Zawacki and Anthony Rose pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, as well
as a forfeiture count.
Zawacki admitted that in exchange for paying the bribes, Frank Rose awarded his
construction company 16 contracts for about $593,610 in work.
More than $5 million went to contractors who bribed Frank Rose, according to
court testimony.
All three men have been released on $50,000 unsecured bonds. Their
sentencings are each scheduled for May 22.
All have agreed to pay restitution.
kserrano@thnt.com
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